Locals: Trou de Loup

Thursday

Jenny Donaldson was throwing events in Columbus long before she started the "Eurotrash" dance party Trou de Loup under the guise of DJ Carol.

Jenny Donaldson was throwing events in Columbus long before she started the "Eurotrash" dance party Trou de Loup under the guise of DJ Carol.

"I used to book hardcore shows when I was 14 or 15 at Freakin' Pizza," Donaldson said.

In the mid-'90s, Donaldson navigated the Columbus underground with friends like Scotty Niemet, who encouraged her to take her DJ hobby more seriously, and Yalan Papillons, whose bar Double Happiness now hosts Trou de Loup on the second Friday of each month.

Donaldson grew up devouring music of all stripes. In the late '90s, her boyfriend's brother turned her on to suave French singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg, whose music became her gateway into a wide realm of old-school French music. Her instant obsession dovetailed nicely with a burgeoning interest in modern French bands.

"I started watching Brigitte Bardot movies and Serge Gainsbourg movies and buying every record," Donaldson said. "Then I went on to Jacque Dutronc and everyone, Jane Birkin."

Trou de Loup, which means "booby trap" in French, was originally conceived as a French music party at existentialism-themed Bar L'Etranger early this year. Donaldson had been deejaying as DJ Carol for several years at events like Strut, Sweatin' and KVLT, but she couldn't find a suitable location for the French music party she had long envisioned until L'Etranger came along.

"I was driving by L'Etranger and I almost wrecked my car," Donaldson said.

When L'Etranger closed, the party relocated to Double Happiness last month with an expanded focus on all European music. The format provides a shakeup for guest DJs such as hip-hop specialist Detox, who'll spin at Friday's edition.

Though lounge and psychedelic music is heavy in the mix, Donaldson envisions Trou de Loup as a dance party.

"I got into spinning records," she said, "because I want to make people dance."